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While hangover cures are hawked online constantly, "there's no pill you can take that's going to cure it, because no pill can address all the things an alcoholic beverage does to you," Swift said. "Alcohol has so many effects itself; its metabolites have effects and the congeners have effects."
However, certain substances have been found to improve at least some of a hangover's symptoms. Activated charcoal has been found to help with the effects of congeners, according to research conducted by Schaefer.
And there is some evidence that prickly pear extract may combat inflammation involved in hangovers, according to a 2004 study in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
Finally, "the best silver bullet is 'don't drink,' obviously," Swift said. Or, if you must, "drink moderately, on a full stomach, hydrate yourself and don't stay up all night."
Pass it on: Hangovers have surprising causes and effects.
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